DETROIT – No matter how heated things get when the Detroit Red
Wings and Boston Bruins meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, it's
probably not going to be any worse than the battles Lester and Deidre Smith
witnessed years ago in their Ontario basement.

They featured some legendary clashes.

It didn't matter if the sport was
hockey or lacrosse, Lester and Deidre's three boys – Rory, Brendan and Reilly –
were sports crazy kids who spent their formative years butting heads near
Toronto.

Their showdowns often didn't end until mom and dad stepped in to make
sure nobody got hurt. But there were a few instances when a visit to the
emergency room was necessary.

Those battles, however, taught
the Smith boys well.

Rory went on to play professional
lacrosse. Brendan is a defenseman with the Detroit Red Wings and Reilly is a forward with
the Boston Bruins.

Now, Brendan and Reilly are preparing
to meet as NHL playoff opponents for the first time Friday night in Game 1 of the
opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs at TD Bank Garden.

If the series goes the full seven
games, it would be a first for the Smiths.

Back when Brendan and Reilly squared
off in the family basement, their seven-game series would rarely go the distance
because mom and dad usually had to end the fun early for everyone's safety.

"My parents tell a little story that we get a little chuckle
out of," Brendan Smith said with a grin. "We'd have friends over and we'd all be in
the basement all playing and the next thing all my friends were up staying with
my parents and we were the only three still in the basement.

"Whether we were too rough or whatever the reason, my
parents always laugh about it that our friends were watching TV with them
upstairs and we were still downstairs playing. There was a lot of battles, a
lot of fights. The parents had to call it quits on a lot of things.

"The worst times were when we actually had to go to the
hospital or something but that rarely happened. Worst injury? A lot of chipped
teeth and a few scars but nothing too crazy."

Brendan Smith,
25, is in his third season with the Red Wings. He appeared in 14 games two
years ago and 34 more last season during the lockout-shortened campaign before
suiting up in 71 games this season.

He
was the Red Wings' first-round pick (27th overall) in the 2007 NHL entry draft
after playing three seasons at Wisconsin.

As
a junior with the Badgers, Brendan was a first-team All-American. He led the
nation in scoring by a defenseman with 15 goals and 37 assists in 41 games and
was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, which goes to the nation's top college hockey player.

Reilly Smith had 20 goals for the Bruins during his first full NHL season.AP File Photo

This
is Reilly Smith's first full NHL season.

After
appearing in 37 games for Dallas a year ago, he was traded to Boston in the
deal that sent Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley to the Stars. The Stars had picked Reilly
Smith in the third round (69th overall) of the 2009 draft after three seasons at
Miami, Ohio.

Reilly,
23, played in all 82 games for the Bruins this season. He collected 20 goals, 31
assists and 14 penalty minutes to go with a plus-28 rating as Boston won the Presidents'
Trophy as the NHL's best team in the regular season.

The
Smiths never played against each in college, even though both were in the Frozen
Four the same year. Although they've met during regular season NHL games the
past two seasons, Friday will mark the first time they've squared off in the
playoffs.

"It's going to be a lot of fun," Brendan predicted. "I heard that he's pretty jacked up. He's told me a few times. Just to
play a playoff series in general is exciting and it's really exciting that I'm
going to be playing against my little brother. It's going to be that much more
fun and I think it's more tough on my parents.

"They're pretty much right down the middle. 'We hope you
guys play well and nobody gets hurt.' That's how they go about it."

Although their communication might be reduced beginning Friday,
Brendan said the Smith brothers usually talk on a daily basis.

They've been doing some trash talking on Twitter since the
playoff matchup was announced last week. Brendan expects they'll continue to
speak throughout the first round and will likely have dinner with their parents
during the series as well.

"They're going to be there so we want to set up a dinner
with all of us," Brendan said. "I suspect it's going to be a little bit more amped up with us than
regular season. It's not like we don't try to hit each other in the games. We
do. You guys have seen that but it will be probably even more.

"I
think it will remind me more of like basement hockey when we played best-of-seven
series back then."

Based
on comments Reilly made during a radio interview with Adam Jones of WBZ-AM in
Boston, Brendan might be in for a bit of a surprise once the series starts. Reilly
doesn't sound like someone who is going to make small talk
with his big brother.

"Ever
since we found out this matchup was going to come, we haven't really talked to
each other at all," Reilly told Jones. "I don't expect too much communicating
over the next week or so because it's going to come down to me against him.

"I
don't think either of us are going to make it easy on each other."

Having
three brothers from the same family play professional sports isn't unheard of. Six Sutter brothers, for instance, played in the NHL. Major League Baseball
had Joe, Dom and Vince DiMaggio. But it is unusual.

Brendan
credits his parents for giving him and his brothers the necessary tools
to excel at sports. Lester was a college basketball player and Deidre was a
competitive runner before getting married and raising a family.

"It's
a testament to them," Brendan said. "They were very athletic. We're lucky to
have good genes. But I think it's also the drive and competitive nature they
instilled in us. They're so proud. They're very proud parents.